Systems and methods for recording overlapping media content during scheduling conflicts

ABSTRACT

In many aspects, systems and methods for recording overlapping media content using interactive media guidance applications are provided. The systems and methods for recording overlapping media content generally relate to cropping overlapping portions of the media content thereby allowing a user to enjoy most of the recording wile only forgoing a portion of the beginning or the end of a program.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/825,311, filed Jul. 3, 2007, (allowed), which claims priority to andthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/927,862,filed on May 4, 2007, (expired), all of which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to media systems, and moreparticularly, to systems and methods for recording overlapping mediacontent using interactive media guidance applications.

Media devices generally include tuners to receive media content such astelevision programs from external media sources. Some media devices alsoinclude recorders to record the received media content for laterviewing. Depending on the number of tuners available in the mediadevice, a user may be able to view and/or record more than one stream ofmedia content simultaneously. However, due to physical limitations inthese media devices, the number of tuners is usually restricted andtypical at-home set-top boxes include one or two tuners.

The number of tuners in a user's equipment limits the amount of mediacontent a user can watch and/or record simultaneously. When the numberof simultaneous recordings and viewings exceed this limit, a schedulingconflict arises. One approach to resolving a recording conflict is tocancel the recording of one of the programs. In other words, programsare either recorded in their entirety or not recorded at all. When twoprograms only overlap a few minutes, perhaps in a way that has no impacton the desirability of watching both programs, one of the recordings iscancelled.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the principles of the present invention, systems andmethods for recording overlapping media content using interactive mediaguidance applications are provided. For purposes of clarity, and not byway of limitation, the systems and methods may sometimes be describedherein in the context of recording and cropping overlapping mediacontent for video-based media content, such as television programs(referred to herein, at times, as simply “programs”). However, it may beunderstood that the systems and methods of the present invention may beapplied to any other suitable type of media content, includingaudio-based media content.

The various embodiments described herein, generally speaking, cropoverlapping portions of the media content thereby allowing a user toenjoy most of the recording while only forgoing a portion of thebeginning or the end of a program.

In some embodiments, the systems and methods described herein includemethods for simultaneously recording multiple programs. Controlcircuitry of user's equipment receives (via user input interfaces andapplications such as an interactive media guidance application andinteractive television program guides) a user input to record a programand determines whether the requested program overlaps with anotherprogram already scheduled for recording. The overlap may occur at thebeginning, end or in the middle of a program. As an example, thebeginning portion of one program may overlap with the end portion of theother program.

When an overlap is detected, the control circuitry may always crop oneof the two programs or, in some embodiments, it may determine whethercropping is appropriate. For example, it may be inappropriate to crop arecording when the amount of overlap (and necessary cropping) is toomuch to allow the user to follow the program or watch its importantparts. The control circuitry may compare the amount of time the twoprograms overlap to a threshold value (e.g., ten minutes) and crop arecording when the overlap is less than the threshold value.

Regardless of whether cropping occurs in all instances of overlap ornot, the control circuitry selects one of the recordings to crop. Incertain embodiments, the recording with the lower recording priority isselected for cropping. Recording priorities may be part of recordingsettings or options set by the user, or they may be automatically set bythe control circuitry, or they may be a combination of both. Forexample, the application may assign the last-scheduled recording to havethe lower recording priority. Alternatively, the program that isscheduled for recording earlier may have the lower recording priority.Or, as another example, recording priorities may be based on one or moreprogram attributes such as whether the program is a single instance or aseries type program (e.g., series recordings may be a higher priorityrelative to one-off recordings). In certain embodiments, a user may beprovided the option of re-recording programs that were previouslycropped. The user may re-record, a program in its entirety or they mayrecord the previously cropped portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will beapparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 show illustrative display screens that may be used toprovide media guidance application listings in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows an illustrative user equipment device in accordance withone embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an illustrative cross-platform interactive mediasystem in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative display screen that may be used to providemedia guidance applications listings in accordance with one embodimentof the invention;

FIG. 6 shows a portion of the display screen of FIG. 5 that indicates aprogramming conflict in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 7-9B show illustrative displays for managing programming overlapsand conflicts in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 10A and 10B each shows a portion of the display screen of FIG. 5that indicates the resolution of the programming conflict identified inFIG. 6 in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 11A-C show illustrative displays that may be used to modifyprogram attributes to manage programming overlaps and conflicts inaccordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 shows an illustrative display that may be used to manage programcropping options in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 13A and 13B show illustrative displays that may be used to manageprogram attributes including recording priority in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 14A-14C show illustrative display screens for managing recordedprograms in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 15-19 are illustrative process flowcharts of steps involved inmanaging overlapping or conflicting recordings according to variousembodiments of the invention;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The amount of media available to users in any given media deliverysystem can be substantial. Consequently, many users desire a form ofmedia guidance through an interface that allows users to efficientlynavigate media selections and easily identify media that they maydesire. An application which provides such guidance is referred toherein as an interactive media guidance application or, sometimes, amedia guidance application or a guidance application.

Interactive media guidance applications may take various forms dependingon the media for which they provide guidance. One typical type of mediaguidance application is an interactive television program guide.Interactive television program guides (sometimes referred to aselectronic program guides) are well-known guidance applications that,among other things, allow users to navigate among and locate many typesof media content including conventional television programming (providedvia traditional broadcast, cable, satellite, Internet, or other means),as well as pay-per-view programs, on-demand programs (as invideo-on-demand (VOD) systems), Internet content (e.g., streaming media,downloadable media, Webcasts, etc.), and other types of media or videocontent. Guidance applications also allow users to navigate among andlocate content related to the video content including, for example,video clips, articles, advertisements, chat sessions, games, etc.

With the advent of the Internet, mobile computing, and high-speedwireless networks, users are accessing media on personal computers (PCs)and other devices on which they traditionally did not, such as hand-heldcomputers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile telephones, orother mobile devices. On these devices users are able to navigate amongand locate the same media available through a television. Consequently,media guidance is necessary on these devices, as well. The guidanceprovided may be for media content available only through a television,for media content available only through one or more of these devices,or for media content available both through a television and one or moreof these devices. The media guidance applications may be provided ason-line applications (i.e., provided on a web-site), or as stand-aloneapplications or clients on hand-held computers, PDAs, mobile telephones,or other mobile devices. The various devices and platforms that mayimplement media guidance applications are described in more detailbelow.

One of the functions of the media guidance application is to providemedia listings and media information to users along with allowing usersto record and watch saved programs. FIGS. 1-2 and 5-14 show illustrativedisplay screens that may be used to provide media guidance, and inparticular media listings and recording options. The display screensshown in FIGS. 1-2 and 5-14C may be implemented on any suitable deviceor platform. While the displays of FIGS. 1-2 and 5-14C are illustratedas full screen displays, they may also be fully or partially overlaidover media content being displayed. A user may indicate a desire toaccess media information by selecting a selectable option provided in adisplay screen (e.g., a menu option, a listings option, an icon, ahyperlink, etc.) or pressing a dedicated button (e.g., a GUIDE button)on a remote control or other user input interface or device. In responseto the user's indication, the media guidance application may provide adisplay screen with media information organized in one of several ways,such as by time and channel in a grid, by time, by channel, by mediatype, by category (e.g., movies, sports, news, children, or othercategories of programming), recording priority, or other predefined,user-defined, or other organization criteria.

FIG. 1 shows illustrative grid program listings display 100 arranged bytime and channel that also enables access to different types of mediacontent in a single display. Display 100 may include grid 102 with: (1)a column of channel/media type identifiers 104, where each channel/mediatype identifier (which is a cell in the column) identifies a differentchannel or media type available; and (2) a row of time identifiers 106,where each time identifier (which is a ceil in the row) identifies atime block of programming. Grid 102 also includes cells of programlistings, such as program listing 108, where each listing provides thetitle of the program provided on the listing's associated channel andtime. Other information and indicators may also be included in gridcells, such as is described below in connection with FIG. 5 for example.With a user input device, a user can select program listings by movinghighlight region 110. Information relating to the program listingselected by highlight region 110 may be provided in program informationregion 112. Region 112 may include, for example, the program title, theprogram description, the time the program is provided (if applicable),the channel the program is on (if applicable), the program's rating, andother desired information whether the program is being recorded, whetherthere is a scheduling conflict, or any other desired information.

In addition to providing access to linear programming provided accordingto a schedule, the media guidance application also provides access tonon-linear programming which is not provided according to a schedule.Non-linear programming may include content from different media sourcesincluding on-demand media content (e.g., VOD), Internet content (e.g.,streaming media, downloadable media, etc.), locally stored media content(e.g., video content stored on a digital video recorder (DVR), digitalvideo disc (DVD), video cassette, compact disc (CD), etc.), or othertime-insensitive media content. On-demand content may include bothmovies and original media content provided by a particular mediaprovider (e.g., HBO On Demand providing “The Sopranos” and “Curb YourEnthusiasm”). HBO ON DEMAND is a service mark owned by Time WarnerCompany L.P. et al. and THE SOPRANOS and CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM aretrademarks owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. Internet content mayinclude web events, such as a chat session or Webcast, or contentavailable on-demand as streaming media or downloadable media through anInternet web site or other Internet access (e.g. FTP). Non-linearprogramming content may also include digital images and text basedinformation, digital music and other audio content.

Grid 102 may provide listings for non-linear programming includingon-demand listing 114, recorded media listing 116, and Internet contentlisting 118. A display combining listings for content from differenttypes of media sources is sometimes referred to as a “mixed-media”display. The various permutations of the types of listings that may bedisplayed that are different than display 100 may be based on userselection or guidance application definition (e.g., a display of onlyrecorded and broadcast listings such as screen 1400 illustrated in FIG.14A, only on-demand and broadcast listings, etc.). As illustrated,listings 114, 116, and 118 are shown as spanning the entire time blockdisplayed in grid 102 to indicate that selection of these listings mayprovide access to a display dedicated to on-demand listings, recordedlistings, or Internet listings, respectively. In other embodiments,listings for these media types may be included directly in grid 102.Additional listings may be displayed in response to the user selectingone of the navigational icons 120. (Pressing an arrow key on a userinput device may affect the display in a similar manner as selectingnavigational icons 120.)

Display 100 may also include video region 122, advertisement 124, andoptions region 126. Video region 122 may allow the user to view and/orpreview programs that are currently available, will be available, orwere available to the user. The content of video region 122 maycorrespond to, or be independent from, one of the listings displayed ingrid 102. Grid displays including a video region are sometimes referredto as picture-in-guide (PIG) displays. PIG displays and theirfunctionalities are described in greater detail in Satterfieid et al.U.S. Pat. No. 6,564,378, issued May 13, 2003 and Yuen et al. U.S. Pat.No. 6,239,794, issued May 29, 2001, which are hereby incorporated byreference herein in their entireties. PIG displays may be included inother media guidance application display screens of the presentinvention.

Advertisement 124 may provide an advertisement for media content that,depending on a viewer's access rights (e.g., for subscriptionprogramming), is currently available for viewing, will be available forviewing in the future, or may never become available for viewing, andmay correspond to or be unrelated to one or more of the media listingsin grid 102. Advertisement 124 may also be for products or servicesrelated or unrelated to the media content displayed in grid 102.Advertisement 124 may be selectable and provide further informationabout media content, provide information about a product or a service,enable purchasing of media content, a product, or a service, providemedia content relating to the advertisement, etc. Advertisement 124 maybe targeted based on a user's profile/preferences, monitored useractivity, the type of display provided, or on other suitable targetedadvertisement bases.

While advertisement 124 is shown as rectangular or banner shaped,advertisements may be provided in any suitable size, shape, and locationin a guidance application display. For example, advertisement 124 may beprovided as a rectangular shape that is horizontally adjacent to grid102. This is sometimes referred to as a panel advertisement. Inaddition, advertisements may be overlaid over media content or aguidance application display or embedded within a display.Advertisements may also include text, images, rotating images, videoclips, or other types of media content. Advertisements may be stored inthe user equipment with the guidance application, in a databaseconnected to the user equipment, in a remote location (includingstreaming media servers), or on other storage means or a combination ofthese locations. Providing advertisements in a media guidanceapplication is discussed in greater detail in, for example, Knudson etal., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/347,673, filed Jan. 17, 2003,Ward, III et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,756,997, issued Jun. 29, 2004, andSchein et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,388,714, issued May 14, 2002, which arehereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. It will beappreciated that advertisements may be included in other media guidanceapplication display screens of the present invention.

Options region 126 may allow the user to access different types of mediacontent, media guidance application displays, and/or media guidanceapplication features. Options region 126 may be part of display 100 (andother display screens of the present invention), or may be invoked by auser by selecting an on-screen option or pressing a dedicated orassignable button on a user input device. The selectable options withinoptions region 126 may concern features related to program listings ingrid 102 or may include options available from a main menu display.Features related to program listings may include searching for other airtimes or ways of receiving a program, recording a program, enablingseries recording of a program, modifying a recording priority of aprogram, setting program and/or channel as a favorite, purchasing aprogram, or other features. Options available from a main menu displaymay include search options, VOD options, parental control options,access to various types of listing displays, subscribe to a premiumservice, edit a user's profile, access a browse overlay, or otheroptions.

The media guidance application may be personalized based on a user'spreferences. A personalized media guidance application allows a user tocustomize displays and features to create a personalized “experience”with the media guidance application. This personalized experience may becreated by allowing a user to input these customizations and/or by themedia guidance application monitoring user activity to determine varioususer preferences. Users may access their personalized guidanceapplication by logging in or otherwise identifying themselves to theguidance application. Customization of the media guidance applicationmay be made in accordance with a user profile. The customizations mayinclude varying presentation schemes (e.g., color scheme of displays,font sixe of text, etc.), aspects of media content listings displayed(e.g., only HDTV programming, user-specified broadcast channels based onfavorite channel selections, re-ordering the display of channels,recommended media content, etc.), desired recording features (e.g.,recording or series recordings for particular users, recording quality,recording priority of programs, recording and cropping options etc.),parental control settings, and other desired customizations.

The media guidance application may allow a user to provide user profileinformation or may automatically compile user profile information. Themedia guidance application may, for example, monitor the media the useraccesses and/or other interactions the user may have with the guidanceapplication. Additionally, the media guidance application may obtain allor part of other user profiles that are related to a particular user(e.g., from other web sites on the Internet the user accesses, such aswww.tvguide.com, from other media guidance applications the useraccesses, from other interactive applications the user accesses, from ahandheld device of the user, etc.), and/or obtain information about theuser from other sources that the media guidance application may access.As a result, a user can be provided with a unified guidance applicationexperience across the user's different devices. This type of userexperience is described in greater detail below in connection with FIG.4. Additional personalized media guidance application features aredescribed in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul. 11, 2005, Boyer et al., U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/437,304, filed Nov 9, 1099, and Ellis et al.,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/105,128, filed Feb. 21, 2002, which,are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

Another display arrangement for providing media guidance is shown inFIG. 2. Video mosaic display 200 includes selectable options 202 formedia content information organized based on media type, genre, and/orother organization criteria. In display 200, television listings option204 is selected, thus providing listings 206, 208, 210, and 212 asbroadcast program listings. Unlike the listings from FIG. 1, thelistings in display 200 are not limited to simple text (e.g., theprogram title) and icons to describe media. Rather, in display 200 thelistings may provide graphical images including cover art, still imagesfrom the media content, video clip previews, live video from the mediacontent, or other types of media that indicate to a user the mediacontent being described by the listing. Each of the graphical listingsmay also be accompanied by text to provide further information about themedia content associated with the listing. For example, listing 208 mayinclude more than one portion, including media portion 214 and textportion 216, Media portion 214 and/or text portion 216 may be selectableto view video in full-screen or to view program listings related to thevideo displayed in media portion 214 (e.g., to view listings for thechannel that the video is displayed on).

The listings in display 200 are of different sizes (i.e., listing 206 islarger than listings 208, 210, and 212), but if desired, all thelistings may be the same size. Listings may be of different sizes orgraphically accentuated to indicate degrees of interest to the user orto emphasize certain content, as desired by the media provider or basedon user preferences. Various systems and methods for graphicallyaccentuating media listings are discussed in, for example, Yates, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/324,202, filed Dec. 29, 2005, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Users may access media content and the media guidance application (andits display screens described above and below) from one or more of theiruser equipment devices. FIG. 3 shows a generalized embodiment ofillustrative user equipment device 300. More specific implementations ofuser equipment devices are discussed below in connection with FIG. 4.User equipment device 300 may receive media content and data viainput/output (hereinafter “I/O”) path 302. I/O path 302 may providemedia content (e.g., broadcast programming, on-demand programming,Internet content, and other video or audio) and data to controlcircuitry 304, which includes processing circuitry 306 and storage 308.Control circuitry 304 may be used to send and receive commands,requests, and other suitable data using I/O path 302. I/O path 302 mayconnect control circuitry 304 (and specifically processing circuitry306) to one or more communications paths (described below). I/Ofunctions may be provided by one or more of these communications paths,but are shown as a single path in FIG. 3 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing.

Control circuitry 304 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry306 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,etc. In some embodiments, control circuitry 304 executes instructionsfor a media guidance application stored in memory (i.e., storage 308).In client-server based embodiments, control circuitry 304 may includecommunications circuitry suitable for communicating with a guidanceapplication server or other networks or servers. Communicationscircuitry may include a cable modem, an integrated services digitalnetwork (ISDN) modem, a digital subscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephonemodem, or a wireless modem for communications with other equipment. Suchcommunications may involve the Internet or any other suitablecommunications networks or paths (which is described in more detail inconnection with FIG. 4). In addition, communications circuitry mayinclude circuitry that enables peer-to-peer communication of userequipment devices, or communication of user equipment devices inlocations remote from each other (described in more detail below).

Memory (e.g., random-access memory, read-only memory, or any othersuitable memory), hard drives, optical drives, or any other suitablefixed or removable storage devices (e.g., DVD recorder, CD recorder,video cassette recorder, or other suitable recording device) may beprovided as storage 308 that is part of control circuitry 304. Storage308 may include one or more of the above types of storage devices. Forexample, user equipment device 300 may include a hard drive for a DVR(sometimes called a personal video recorder, or PVR) and a DVD recorderas a secondary storage device. Storage 308 may be used to store varioustypes of media described herein and guidance application data, includingprogram information, guidance application settings, user preferences orprofile information, or other data used in operating the guidanceapplication. Nonvolatile memory may also be used (e.g., to launch aboot-up routine and other instructions).

Control circuitry 304 may include video generating circuitry and tuningcircuitry, such as one or more analog tuners, one or more MPEG-2decoders or other digital decoding circuitry, high-definition tuners, orany other suitable tuning or video circuits or combinations of suchcircuits. Encoding circuitry (e.g., for converting over-the-air, analog,or digital signals to MPEG signals for storage) may also be provided.Control circuitry 304 may also include scalar circuitry for upconvertingand downconverting media into the preferred output format of the userequipment 300. Circuitry 304 may also include digital-to-analogconverter circuitry and analog-to-digital converter circuitry forconverting between digital and analog signals. The tuning and encodingcircuitry may be used by the user equipment to receive and to display,to play, or to record media content. The tuning and encoding circuitrymay also be used to receive guidance data. The circuitry describedherein, including for example, the tuning, video generating, encoding,decoding, scaler, and analog/digital circuitry, may be implemented usingsoftware running on one or more general purpose or specializedprocessors. Multiple tuners may be provided to handle simultaneoustuning functions (e.g., watch and record functions, picture-in-picture(PIP) functions, multiple-tuner recording, etc.). If storage 308 isprovided as a separate device from user equipment 300, the tuning andencoding circuitry (including multiple tuners) may be associated withstorage 308.

A user may control the control circuitry 304 using user input interface310. User input interface 310 may be any suitable user interface, suchas a remote control, mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen,touch pad, stylus input, joystick, voice recognition interface, or otheruser input interfaces. Display 312 may be provided as a stand-alonedevice or integrated with other elements of user equipment device 300.Display 312 may be one or more of a monitor, a television, a liquidcrystal display (LCD) for a mobile device, or any other suitableequipment for displaying visual images. In some embodiments, display 312may be HDTV-capable. Speakers 314 may be provided as integrated withother elements of user equipment device 300 or may be stand-alone units.The audio component of videos and other media content displayed ondisplay 312 may be played through speakers 314. In some embodiments, theaudio may be distributed to a receiver (not shown), which processes andoutputs the audio via speakers 314.

User equipment device 300 of FIG. 3 can be implemented in system 400 ofFIG. 4 as user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404,wireless user communications device 406, or any other type of userequipment suitable for accessing media, such as a non-portable gamingmachine. For simplicity, these devices may be referred to hereincollectively as user equipment or user equipment devices. User equipmentdevices, on which a media guidance application is implemented, mayfunction as a standalone device or may be part of a network of devices.Various network configurations of devices may be implemented and arediscussed in more detail below.

User television equipment 402 may include a set-top box, an integratedreceiver decoder (IRD) for handling satellite television, a televisionset, a digital storage device, a DVD recorder, a video-cassette recorder(VCR), a local media server, or other user television equipment. One ormore of these devices may be integrated to be a single device, ifdesired. User computer equipment 404 may include a PC, a laptop, atablet, a WebTV box, a personal computer television (PC/TV), a PC mediaserver, a PC media center, or other user computer equipment. WEBTV is atrademark owned by Microsoft Corp. Wireless user communications device406 may include PDAs, a mobile telephone, a portable video player, aportable music player, a portable gaming machine, or other wirelessdevices.

It should be noted that with the advent of television tuner cards forPC's, WebTV, and the integration of video into other user equipmentdevices, the lines have become blurred when trying to classify a deviceas one of the above devices. In fact, each of user television equipment402, user computer equipment 404, and wireless user communicationsdevice 406 may utilize at least some of the system features describedabove in connection with FIG. 3 and, as a result, include flexibilitywith respect to the type of media content available on the device. Forexample, user television equipment 402 may be Internet-enabled allowingfor access to Internet content, while user computer equipment 404 mayinclude a tuner allowing for access to television programming. The mediaguidance application may also have the same layout on the variousdifferent types of user equipment or may be tailored to the displaycapabilities of the user equipment. For example, on user computerequipment, the guidance application may be provided as a web siteaccessed by a web browser. In another example, the guidance applicationmay be scaled down for wireless user communications devices.

In system 400, there is typically more than one of each type of userequipment device but only one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, each user may utilize morethan one type of user equipment device (e.g., a user may have atelevision set and a computer) and also more than one of each type ofuser equipment device (e.g., a user may have a PDA and a mobiletelephone and/or multiple television sets).

The user may also set various settings to maintain consistent mediaguidance application settings across in-home devices and remote devices.Settings include chose described herein, as well as channel and programfavorites, programming preferences that the guidance applicationutilizes to make programming recommendations, display preferences, andother desirable guidance settings. For example, if a user sets a channelas a favorite on, for example, the web site www.tvguide.com on theirpersonal computer at their office, the same channel would appear as afavorite on the user's in-home devices (e.g., user television equipmentand user computer equipment) as well as the user's mobile devices, ifdesired. Therefore, changes made on one user equipment device can changethe guidance experience on another user equipment device, regardless ofwhether they are the same or a different type of user equipment device.In addition, the changes made may be based on settings input by a user,as well as user activity monitored by the guidance application.

The user equipment devices may be coupled to communications network 414.Namely, user television equipment 402, user computer equipment 404, andwireless user communications device 406 are coupled to communicationsnetwork 414 via communications paths 408, 410, and 412, respectively.Communications network 414 may be one or more networks including theInternet, a mobile phone network, mobile device (e.g., Blackberry)network, cable network, public switched telephone network, or othertypes of communications network or combinations of communicationsnetworks. BLACKBERRY is a service mark owned by Research In MotionLimited Corp. Paths 408, 410, and 412 may separately or together includeone or more communications paths, such as, a satellite path, afiber-optic path, a cable path, a path that supports Internetcommunications (e.g., IPTV), free-space connections (e.g., for broadcastor other wireless signals), or any other suitable wired or wirelesscommunications path or combination of such paths. Path 412 is drawn withdotted lines to indicate that in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG.4 it is a wireless path and paths 408 and 410 are drawn as solid linesto indicate they are wired paths (although these paths may be wirelesspaths, if desired). Communications with the user equipment, devices maybe provided by one or more of these communications paths, but are shownas a single path in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.

Although communications paths are not drawn between user equipmentdevices, these devices may communicate directly with each other viacommunication paths, such as those described above in connection withpaths 408, 410, and 412, as well other short-range point-to-pointcommunication paths, such as USB cables, IEEE 1394 cables, wirelesspaths (e.g., Bluetooth, infrared, IEEE 802-11x, etc.), or othershort-range communication via wired or wireless paths. BLUETOOTH is acertification mark owned by Bluetooth SIG, INC. The user equipmentdevices may also communicate with each other directly through anindirect path via communications network 414.

System 400 includes media content source 416 and media guidance datasource 418 coupled to communications network 414 via communication paths420 and 422, respectively. Paths 420 and 422 may include any of thecommunication paths described above in connection with paths 408, 410,and 412. Communications with the media content source 416 and mediaguidance data source 418 may be exchanged over one or morecommunications paths, but are shown as a single path in FIG. 4 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. In addition, there may be more than one ofeach of media content source 416 and media guidance data source 418, butonly one of each is shown in FIG. 4 to avoid overcomplicating thedrawing. (The different types of each of these sources are discussedbelow.) If desired, media content source 416 and media guidance datasource 418 may be integrated as one source device. Althoughcommunications between sources 416 and 418 with user equipment devices402, 404, and 406 are shown as through communications network 414, insome embodiments, sources 416 and 418 may communicate directly with userequipment, devices 402, 404, and 406 via communication paths (not shown)such as those described above in connection with paths 408, 410, and412.

Media content source 416 may include one or more types of mediadistribution equipment including a television distribution facility,cable system headend, satellite distribution facility, programmingsources (e.g., television broadcasters, such as NBC, ABC, HBO, etc.),intermediate distribution facilities and/or servers, Internet providers,on-demand media servers, and other media content providers. NBC is atrademark owned by the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., ABC is atrademark owned by the ABC, INC., and HBO is a trademark owned by theHome Box Office, Inc. Media content source 416 may be the originator ofmedia content (e.g., a television broadcaster, a Webcast provider, etc.)or may not be the originator of media content (e.g., an on-demand mediacontent provider, an Internet provider of video content of broadcastprograms for downloading, etc.). Media content source 416 may includecable sources, satellite providers, on-demand providers, Internetproviders, or other providers of media content. Media content source 416may also include a remote media server used to store different types ofmedia content (including video content selected by a user), in alocation remote from any of the user equipment devices. Systems andmethods for remote storage of media content, and providing remotelyscored media content to user equipment are discussed in greater detailin connection with Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/332,244, filed Jun. 11, 1999, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

Media guidance data source 418 may provide media guidance data, such asmedia listings, media-related information (e.g., broadcast times,broadcast channels, media titles, media descriptions, ratingsinformation (e.g., parental control ratings, critic's ratings, etc.),genre or category information, actor information, logo data forbroadcasters' or providers' logos, etc.), media format (e.g., standarddefinition, high definition, etc.), advertisement information (e.g.,text, images, media clips, etc.), on-demand information, and any othertype of guidance data that is helpful for a user to navigate among andlocate desired media selections.

Media guidance application data may be provided to the user equipmentdevices using any suitable approach. In some embodiments, the guidanceapplication may be a stand-alone interactive television program guidethat receives program guide data via a data feed (e.g., a continuousfeed, trickle feed, or data in the vertical blanking interval of achannel). Program schedule data and other guidance data may be providedto the user equipment on a television channel sideband, in the verticalblanking interval of a television channel, using an in-band digitalsignal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitabledata transmission technique. Program schedule data and other guidancedata may be provided to user equipment on multiple analog or digitaltelevision channels. Program schedule data and other guidance data maybe provided to the user equipment, with any suitable frequency (e.g.,continuously, daily, a user-specified period of time, a system-specifiedperiod of time, in response to a request from user equipment, etc.). Insome approaches, guidance data from media guidance data source 418 maybe provided to users' equipment using a client-server approach. Forexample, a guidance application client residing on the user's equipmentmay initiate sessions with source 418 to obtain guidance data whenneeded. Media guidance data source 418 may provide user equipmentdevices 402, 404, and 406 the media guidance application itself orsoftware updates for the media guidance application.

Media guidance applications may be, for example, stand-aloneapplications implemented on user equipment devices, In otherembodiments, media guidance applications may be client-serverapplications where only the client resides on the user equipment device.For example, media guidance applications may be implemented partially asa client application on control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) of user equipmentdevice 300 and partially on a remote server as a server application(e.g., media guidance data source 418). The guidance applicationdisplays may be generated by the media guidance data source 418 andtransmitted to the user equipment devices. The media guidance datasource 418 may also transmit data for storage on the user equipment,which then generates the guidance application displays based oninstructions processed by control circuitry.

Media guidance system 400 is intended to illustrate a number ofapproaches, or network configurations, by which user equipment devicesand sources of media content and guidance data may communicate with eachother for the purpose of accessing media and providing media guidance.The present invention may be applied in any one or a subset of theseapproaches, or in a system employing other approaches for deliveringmedia and providing media guidance. The following three approachesprovide specific illustrations of the generalized example of FIG. 4.

In one approach, user equipment devices may communicate with each otherwithin a home network. User equipment devices can communicate with eachother directly via short-range point-to-point communication schemesdescribe above, via indirect paths through a hub or other similar deviceprovided on a home network, or via communications network 414. Each ofthe multiple individuals in a single home may operate different userequipment devices on the home network. As a result, it may be desirablefor various media guidance information or settings to be communicatedbetween the different, user equipment devices. For example, it may bedesirable for users to maintain consistent media guidance applicationsettings on different user equipment devices within a home network, asdescribed in greater detail in Ellis et al., U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/179,410, filed Jul 11, 2005. Different types of userequipment devices in a home network may also communicate with each otherto transmit media content. For example, a user may transmit mediacontent, from user computer equipment to a portable video player orportable music player.

In a second approach, users may have multiple types of user equipment bywhich they access media content and obtain media guidance. For example,some users may have home networks that are accessed by in-home andmobile devices. Users may control in-home devices via a media guidanceapplication implemented on a remote device. For example, users mayaccess an online media guidance application on a website via a personalcomputer at their office, or a mobile device such as a PDA orweb-enabled mobile telephone. The user may set various settings (e.g.,recordings, reminders, or other settings) on the online guidanceapplication to control the user's in-home equipment. The online guidemay control the user's equipment directly, or by communicating with amedia guidance application on the user's in-home equipment. Varioussystems and methods for user equipment devices communicating, where theuser equipment devices are in locations remote from each other, isdiscussed in, for example, Ellis et al., U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/927,814, filed Aug. 26, 2004, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

In a third approach, users of user equipment devices inside and outsidea home can use their media guidance application to communicate directlywith media content source 416 to access media content. Specifically,within a home, users of user television equipment 404 and user computerequipment 406 may access the media guidance application to navigateamong and locate desirable media content. Users may also access themedia guidance application outside of the home using wireless usercommunications devices 406 to navigate among and locate desirable mediacontent.

It will be appreciated that while the discussion of media content hasfocused on video content, the principles of media guidance can beapplied to other types of media content, such as music, images, etc.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an illustrative program listing display arranged bytime and channel that may be displayed on the display 312 of the userequipment device or media device 402, 404 or 406 (FIG. 4). Inparticular, FIG. 5 shows an illustrative program listing grid display500 that includes a grid 520 with channel identifiers 502 and timeidentifiers 504, a media information region 518 and a video region 522(sometimes referred to as a “picture-in-guide” or “PIG” region). Thesize, shape, layout and contents of the cells in the grid 520 of FIG. 5may be similar to those of the grid 102 in FIG. 1. The grid 520 includesceils of program listings, such as program listing 506 for the “LateShow with David Letterman” (referred to herein after as the “LateShow”), program listing 508 for “Charlie Rose”, program listing 510 for“BBC World News” (referred to herein after as “News”) and programlisting 512 for “Zoolander.” Late Show is a trademark owned by WorldwidePants Inc., and BBC and BBC World are trademarks owned by the BritishBroadcasting Corporation. The cells 506, 508 and 512 include a recordingicon 514 that indicates that the corresponding program is eithercurrently being recorded or is scheduled for a future recording.

As noted earlier, the number of tuners or tuning circuitry in thecontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) in the user equipment device limits thenumber of programs that can be simultaneously recorded by the recorder308. Most user equipment devices 402, 404 and 406 typically only haveone or two tuners thereby restricting the number of programs that can besimultaneously recorded in their recorders 308 to one or two. In thisexample, the maximum number of concurrent recordings is two.

In the example of FIG. 5, Late Show 506 extends past 12:30 for a fewminutes. Consequently, at 12:30 there are concurrent recordingsscheduled Zoolander 512 and Late Show 506. When a user attempts torecord News 510, the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) within the userequipment device modifies the grid portion 520 of display screen 500 ofFIG. 5 to the screen shown in FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the Newscell 510 is marked with a conflict icon 602. The control circuitry 304(FIG. 3) may resolve the conflict as discussed in connection with FIGS.7-10B. It should be noted that in other embodiments the conflicts may beresolved without user involvement such that icon 602 is not used.

As an initial matter the interactive media guidance application runningon control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) may determine whether cropping isappropriate. Since the overlap is small, the default approach forresolving the conflict is to allow Late Show 506 to be recorded till itends and then start recording News 510, thereby cropping a portion ofNews 510. The user may be alerted to such a default option and given theoption to modify existing recording and cropping settings.

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative display 700 that alerts the user, who isattempting to record News 510 (FIG. 5), that there is a conflict. Insome embodiments, display 700 is overlaid onto a region on displayscreen 500 (FIG. 5). Text 702 indicates the existence of a conflict at atime shown in text 704. Text 708 informs the user that News 510 (FIG. 5)will be recorded once Late Show 506 (FIG. 5) has ended and a tuner ismade available. The user is allowed to accept this option using acceptbutton 710 or cancel recording using cancel button 712. In certainembodiments, the user is allowed to enter the cropping options menuusing crop menu button 714. The user may use the navigation keys on theuser equipment device or on a remote control associated with the userequipment device to move a highlight box 716 over the buttons 710, 712and 714 to select a desired option.

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative display 800 that provides a user with a setof choices to crop and/or cancel one or more programs scheduled forrecording. In particular, the user is presented the option 802 ofcropping News 530 (FIG. 5), option 804 of canceling Zoolander, option806 of cropping Late Show 506 (FIG. 5), or option 808 of not recordingNews 510 (FIG. 5). Each of the options presented to the user allow forthe scheduling conflict to be resolved. The user may use navigationalkeys to move the highlight box 810 and select an option. Alternatively,the user may select the cancel button 812 and exit from the display 800.The display 800 may be overlaid onto a region on display screen 500(FIG. 5).

In the example of FIGS. 7 and 8, the user is attempting to schedule therecording of News prior to when it begins. When a user attempts torecord a currently-running program, however, the interactive mediaguidance application may provide FIGS. 9A and 9B instead of FIGS. 7 and8. Display 900 (FIG. 9A) includes text 902 that alerts the user to thefact that both tuners are currently busy and the requested recording isexpected to run during time slot indicated by text 904. The user mayselect option 906 to immediately starting recording News 510 (FIG. 5),or option 908 to wait to start recording till Late Show 506 (FIG. 5)ends, or option 910 to not start recording News 510 (FIG. 5). The usermay alternatively exit the display 900 by selecting the cancel button914. If the user chooses option 908, then a starting portion of News 510(FIG. 5) may be cropped to allow for Late Show 506 (FIG. 5) to berecorded in its entirety.

If the user chooses option 906, control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) generatesa display 920 shown in FIG. 9B. Display 920 identifies the user's choiceof option 906 in text 922 for the time slot identified by text 924. Asnoted earlier, the user equipment device may be capable of recording twoprograms simultaneously. In such a case, if the user wants to startrecording News 510 (FIG. 5) immediately, either the ending portion ofLate Show 506 may have to be cropped or Zoolander 512 (FIG. 5) may haveto be canceled. Screen 920 presents the user with option 926 forcropping Late Show 506 (FIG. 5) and option 928 for stopping Zoolander512 (FIG. 5). In certain optional embodiments, the starting portion ofZoolander 512 (FIG. 5) may be cropped.

FIGS. 10A and 10B show the grid portion of the display screen 500 (FIG.5) after a program has been cropped. In particular, in grid 1000 shownin FIG. 10A, Late Show 506 (FIG. 5) is illustrated as being recorded inits entirety while News 510 is cropped during a starting portion 1016,and recorded from a time starting at the end of Late Show. In the grid1020 shown in FIG. 10B, the ending portion 1022 of Late Show is croppedand the News is recorded in its entirety. In certain alternativeembodiments, the starting portion of Zoolander may be cropped such thatboth Late Show and News may be recorded in their entirety.

As discussed thus far, the user may have the option of cropping and/orcanceling one or more scheduled recordings. In certain embodiments, theuser may further have the option of more specifically modifying theextent of cropping so as to overcome scheduling conflicts. Turning backto FIG. 5, when a user selects a program for recording, and a schedulingconflict is identified, the user may optionally be allowed to manuallymodify recording options such that a scheduling conflict is overcome.FIGS. 11A-C depict illustrative displays 1100, 1120 and 1130,respectively that may be used to specify, among other things, thestarting and ending times of a program to overcome scheduling conflicts.

Displays 1100, 1120 and 1130 include recording options and valuesassociated with the options. Options 1104 and 1106 allow the user to setpermissible beginning and ending crop times. That is, the user mayspecify how much time may be cropped automatically (how much timeprograms may overlap) without having to prompt the user and receiveapproval for cropping. These cropping times should not be confused withrecording buffer times (not shown), where users may specify an amount oftime to extend a recording from the normally scheduled start or endtime. They should also not be confused with options (also not shown)which allow the user to adjust recording start and end times. In someembodiments such options, however, may he used in conjunction withcropping times.

FIG. 11A is an illustrative display 1100 for one-off recordings inwhich, for example, the user specifies that the recording may have 1minute of its ending cropped. FIG. 11B is an illustrative display 1120for series recordings in which, for example, the user specifies that therecording may have 7 minutes of its ending cropped. FIG. 11C is anillustrative display 1132 for a one-off recording in which, for example,the user specifies that recording may have 3 minutes of its beginningcropped.

In certain embodiments, cropping of one or more programs are needed onlywhen there is an overlap that causes a scheduling conflict. However, ifat least two programs overlap for a substantial portion of theirrespective air times, then it may be a waste of system resources toattempt to record only the small non-overlapping portions of theseprograms. In such cases, the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) may identifythis conflict and determine the extent of overlap prior to cropping. Ifthe control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) determines that the overlap is lessthan a threshold amount of time (e.g. 10 minutes), then one or moreprograms may be cropped. If the overlap is greater than such athreshold, then the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) may cancel therecording of one or the other program. In some embodiments, thethreshold is programmed into the interactive media guidance application.In other embodiments, the user may specify the threshold. FIG. 12depicts a display 1200 for allowing a user to manually set such athreshold value. Display 1200 allows a user to adjust the Maximumoverlap time 1202 to a time value 1204. The user may use thenavigational keys on the user equipment device or a remote control forthe same. The user may optionally exit from screen 1200 by selecting thecancel button 1206.

As noted earlier, in the event of a scheduling conflict, the controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3) may automatically determine which (if any)programs to crop and/or cancel. In certain embodiments, such adetermination is made based on user-supplied recording priorities forthe programs. Recording priorities may provide a measure of theimportance of a particular program when compared to another.

FIGS. 13A and 13B show illustrative displays 1300 and 1350,respectively, that allow a user to set various recording options forLate Show and News. Screens 1300 and 1350 may be similar to screens1100, 1120 and 1130 of FIGS. 11A-C, but additionally including theoption of modifying the recording priority 1304 b and 1354 b. Moreparticularly, screen 1300 includes recording options 1304 a-1304 d withuser adjustable values 1306 a-1306 d for the program identified in text1302. Highlight 1310 may be used to highlight an option that is beingmodified. Similarly, screen 1350 includes recording options 1354 a-1354d with user adjustable values 1356 a-1356 for the program identified intext 1352. In the illustrated embodiments, the recording priority forLate Show is set to high while the recording priority for News is set tolow. Such a setting allows the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) to make apreliminary determination for a choice of program to cropped and presentthe same to the user as shown previously in FIG. 7. Since News has alower priority than Late Show, the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)proposes that News should begin when Late Show ends.

The recording priority of a program may also be determined by referringto a recording priority ranking list that ranks all or substantially allprograms (or all series programs) to be recorded (e.g., most relevantwith series recordings). For example, the recording priority rankinglist may show, with #1 being of the highest priority:

-   -   1. Friends    -   2. Late Show    -   3. 24    -   4. BBC News    -   5. The Simpsons    -   6. Lost . . .

Such a ranking list containing a ranking of programs may be stored instorage 308. Accordingly, baaed on the list above, the Late Show has ahigher recording priority than BBC News and trumps BBC News. So, whenthere is an scheduling conflict between the Late Show and BBC Newswhereby a portion of Late Show overlaps with BBC News, the controlcircuitry 304 may obtain the ranking list from storage 308 or from theuser via user input interface 310 and determine based on the rankinglist which program has a lower priority. In the above example, BBC Newswill be assigned the lower priority compared to Late Show. Thescheduling conflict may be resolved by recording the program having ahigher recording priority (i.e., Late Show) at least during the periodof the overlap. The recording priorities of more than two programs maybe determined similarly baaed on the recording priority ranking list andassigned according. If such a recording priority ranking list is alreadyconfigured, the cropping of programs having overlap conflicts may beperformed automatically based on the recording priority ranking listwithout any further user input.

The recorded programs (cropped or full) are stored in storage 308 (FIG.3) and may be retrieved for later viewing by the user. FIG. 14A depictsa display 1400 that provides a listing of the user's recorded programs.The display screen 1400 includes a list 1404, an information region 1408and a video region 1402. The list 1404 shows a listing of each of therecorded programs including a cropping icon 1406 that indicates arecorded program that was cropped due to a scheduling conflict. In theillustrated embodiment, News was cropped and therefore includes acropping icon 1406 in the list 1404. The information region 1408typically provides more information about the recording including achannel identifier and program title and program information. If aprogram had been cropped, the information region 1408 may also indicatewhich portion of the program was cropped. The starting time 1410 of Newsis bolded and adjusted in the information region 1408 to indicate thatcropping has occurred and the when the program was recorded. Theinformation region may also include a the cropping icon 1406 torepresent a cropped program.

In certain embodiments, the control circuitry 304 ( FIG. 3) may promptthe user to record an un-cropped copy of a program. For example, inresponse to a user selecting a recording in display screen 1400, thecontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) may present display 1440 of FIG. 14B.Display 1440 alerts the user that News is a cropped recording via text1442 and prompts the user to indicate whether the user would like thecontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) to search for repeats of News byhighlighting 1448 and selecting the scan button 1444. Optionally, theuser may elect to close the screen by selecting the cancel button 1446.On selecting the scan option 1444, the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)searches the guidance data stored in storage 303 (FIG. 3) and presentsthe user with display 1480 shown in FIG. 14C. Screen 1480 includes alisting 1482 of repeat showings 1486 of News at various times. The usermay select one or more of the repeat showings of News using thehighlight box 1488 and schedule a recording for the desired time.

FIGS. 15-19 are illustrative process flow charts of steps involved inmanaging overlapping or conflicting recordings. In particular, FIG. 15depicts a process 1500 for cropping a program beginning with receiving arecording request (step 1502). A user may provide a recording request byselecting a program on display screen 100 or 500 by using navigationkeys on the user equipment device or a remote control and then pushing arecord button on the device or remote control. The navigation keys andthe record button are typically part of the user input interface 310(FIG. 3) that transmits the request from the user to the controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3). The control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) receives therecording request which may be a request for recording a particularprogram such as News 510. The control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) determinesif the requested program overlaps with any other program (step 1504).The storage/memory 308 (FIG. 3) such as a hard disk may have savedlisting of programs to be aired that may have been obtained from a mediaguidance data source 418 (FIG. 4). The memory 308 (FIG. 3) mayadditionally have information about programs that have already beenscheduled for recording. The control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) compares theair time of the requested recording with air times of other programsalready scheduled for recording to determine if there are anyoverlapping portions. If there are no overlaps, the process 1500 ends(step 1512) and the requested program is scheduled for recording.

In the event of an overlap, the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3)determines if one or more crop conditions have been met (step 1506). Incertain embodiments, the crop conditions include, among other things, anoverlap time. In such embodiments, if the overlap time is less than acertain threshold then the crop condition is said to have been met andthe program having a lower recording priority is cropped (step 1510).The crop condition may be set by a user using the display 1200 (FIG. 12)in the interactive guidance application. However, if the overlap time islarger than the threshold, then the crop condition is not met and thereis an unresolved conflict (step 1508). The unresolved conflict arisesbecause an overlapping conflict has been identified by the controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3). However, since the crop condition was not met,the overlapping conflict was not resolved.

FIG. 16 depicts a process 1600 for resolving the aforementionedunresolved conflicts arising from overlapping conflicts that have notmet crop conditions. Typically, such unresolved conflicts arise when twoor more programs have an overlap that is a substantially large portionof their air time. The control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) may provide theuser with the option of resolving the conflict either manually by theuser or automatically by the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) (step 1602).If the user opts for an automatic resolution of the conflict, thecontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) determines which of the programs has alower priority and cancels the recording of that program (step 1616).The recording priority of a program may be set using the recordingoption displays 1300 and 1350 shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B.

If the user chooses to resolve the conflict manually, then the user isprovided the option of either cropping or canceling one or more programs(step 1604). If the user opts to cancel a recording, the processingcircuitry cancels the recording of the program having a lower recordingpriority. If the user instead chooses to crop a recording, the controlcircuitry 304 (FIG. 3) crops the program having a lower recordingpriority.

In certain embodiments, the crop condition may have been a maximumthreshold for overlap time and the crop condition may not have been metbecause the overlap exceeded this threshold by a small amount. A usermay be able to recognize this and simply crop a low priority recordinginstead of completely canceling it. The user may also be given theoption of changing the crop condition (e.g. change the maximum thresholdfor overlap) (step 1608). The user may change the crop condition such asoverlap time to increase the maximum threshold for overlap to increasethe chance that crop conditions may be met more often in futurerecordings.

FIG. 17A, more specifically, depicts a process 1700 for managingscheduling conflicts arising from scheduling overlapping programs forrecording. The process 1700 begins when the control circuitry 304 (FIG.3) receives a recording request (step 1702). The recording request maybe received from user via user input interface 310 or internally fromthe control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) whereby based on certain aspects ofthe user's viewing habits, the control circuitry 306 may suggest aprogram for recording. The control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) determines ifthe program requested to be recorded overlaps with another programalready scheduled for recording (step 1704). As noted earlier, thecontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) interacts with the storage 308 to comparestored program schedules and time Information determine if such anoverlap exists. If the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) determines thatthere is no overlap, then the process 1700 is ended (step 1706) and theprogram may be recorded.

However, if the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) identifies an overlap, itdetermines if the overlap time of the two programs is less than maximumoverlap time of 10 minutes. The maximum overlap time may be usercustomizable via display 1200 shown in FIG. 12. If the overlap isgreater than the maximum overlap time, then an unresolved conflict hasoccurred and has to be resolved using process 1600 shown in FIG. 16.

If the overlap time is less than the maximum overlap time of 10 minutes,the control circuitry including the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) inconjunction with the storage 308 (FIG. 3) sets the recording priority ofthe program with the overlap during a starting segment to low (step1710). The control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) also sets the priority of theprogram with the overlap during an ending segment to high (step 1712).Additionally and optionally, a user may be able to modify the recordingpriority of each of the overlapping programs using the recording optionsscreens 1300 and 1350 shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B. Once the overlappingprograms that are scheduled for recording have been assigned recordingpriorities, the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) turns to recording theprograms based on these priorities (step 1714).

In particular, as depicted in process 1750 of FIG. 17B, the controlcircuitry detects the start of the low priority program, scheduled forrecording, obtained from the media content source 416 via communicationpath 302 (FIG. 3) (step 1716). The control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) checksto see if there are any tuners available for recording the program atthe start time (step 1718). If there is at least one tuner available,the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) tunes the tuner to the channel inwhich the program is being aired and directs the recorder 308 to startrecording the program from the beginning (step 1726).

If, however, there is no tuner available at the start of the program(i.e. if the tuners are currently busy and tuned to other channels forrecording other higher priority programs), the control circuitry 304(FIG. 3) determines whether one of the higher priority recordings arecomplete (step 1720). If the high priority recording has not yet ended,then the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) allows this program to end andchecks again closer to the end (steps 1720 and 1724).

Once the high priority program has ended, the control circuitry 304(FIG. 3) directs the tuner to tune to the low priority program, and therecorder to start recording the low priority program (step 1722). Sincethe control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) waited until the end of the highpriority program to begin recording the low priority program, a portionof the starting segment of the low priority program may be cropped toovercome the scheduling conflict.

As noted earlier, recorded programs including those that have beencropped are stored in memory/storage 308 (FIG. 3) for later viewing. Auser wishing to watch cropped portions of the cropped recordings maychoose to re-record the program in its entirety or at least the croppedportion. FIG. 18 depicts a process 1800 for re-recording at leastportions of cropped programs. The user may be provided with a recordedprogram display similar to display screen 1400 (FIG. 14) shown in FIG.14A (step 1802). The display screen 1400 (FIG. 14) may be generated bythe control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) by first querying the recorder andmemory 308 (FIG. 3) for a location of each of the programs that havebeen previously recorded. The control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) generates alisting of such programs and determines based on one or more attributesof the recording whether the program was cropped. The control circuitry304 (FIG. 3) flags cropped programs with cropping icons similar tocropping icons 1406 (FIG. 14) in display screen 1400 (FIG. 14) (step1804).

Using display screen 1400 (FIG. 14), the user may browse the recordedprogram listings and select a program to view or re-record. If the userselects a program that is not cropped, then the user may be allowed toview the program. However, if the user selects a cropped program, theuser may be allowed to either view the cropped program or search forrepeat showings of the cropped program so that at least the croppedportion may be re-recorded.

If the user selects a cropped program such as News on screen 1400 (FIG.14), the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) receives this request (step1806) and displays a dialog screen that allows the user to play thecropped program or scan (e.g., screen 1440, FIG. 14B) for repeatshowings of the program (step 1808). If the user opts to play thecropped program, then the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) obtains theprogram from storage 308 and plays it on display 312 (FIG. 3) (step1822).

If the user opts to scan for a repeat showing of the program, thecontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) queries the media guidance data source418 (FIG. 4) for a schedule of upcoming repeat showings of the program.On receiving such a listing from the media guidance source 418 (FIG. 4),the processing circuitry generates a display screen, similar to display1480 (FIG. 14), listing upcoming repeat airings of the program (step1810). The user may select a repeat version of the program (e.g.,repeats 1486, FIG. 14C) that may air at another time and/or on anotherday. The control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) receives a user selection for are-run (step 1812) that it attempts to schedule for recording. The useris then allowed to select between either recording the program in itsentirety or simply re-recording the previously cropped portion. If theuser selects to re-record the entire program, the processing circuitryschedules such a recording, pending any further overlapping conflictchecks (step 1820). Any new overlapping conflicts may be handledsimilarly to the processes described herein. The user may have theoption of recording a full repeat only when there is no conflict. Theuser may also have the option of setting the recording priority of therepeat showing different from the original cropped recording. Forexample, if flews was set to a low recording priority (screen 135, FIG.13B), then a repeat showing of News (listing 1486, FIG. 14C) may be setto a high priority to ensure that the program is recorded in full.

In certain embodiments, the user may elect to simply record the croppedportion of the cropped program. As an example, the user may wish to onlyrecord the beginning segment of News 510 (FIG. 5) that was overlappingthe ending segment of Late Show 506 (FIG. 5). In such embodiments, thecontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) compares the start and end time of theprogram to the start and end time of the cropped recording to determinewhich portions of the program was cropped. The control circuitry 304(FIG. 3) directs the recorder 308 to record the repeat showing of theprogram during the time that the previous recording was cropped (step1816). In certain embodiments, the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) maycombine the re-recorded cropped portion of the program with the previouscropped recording to provide the user with a complete version of theprogram (e.g., “stitching” of the program).

As noted earlier, the user equipment devices may be configured with twotuners that may allow about two programs to be recorded simultaneously.FIG. 19 depicts a process 1900 for managing a plurality of overlappingrecordings. In particular, process 1900 manages scheduling conflictsbetween three overlapping programs. The process begins when theprocessing circuitry receives a request for recording a first program,either from a user or from an agent internal to the control circuitry304 (FIG. 3) (step 1902). The control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) determinesif the first program overlaps with second and third programs (step1904). As noted earlier, the processing circuitry obtains mediainformation from the media guidance data source 418 (FIG. 4) anddetermines based on the information stored in the storage 308 (FIG. 3)whether the first program overlaps with other programs. If it isdetermined that the first program does not overlap with the second andthird programs, then the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) schedules thefirst program for recording (step 1918).

In certain embodiments, if the control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) determinesthat the first program overlaps with a second and third program, thenthe control circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) attempts to determine the overlaptime (step 1906). If the overlap time is greater than a maximum overlaptime of about 10 minutes, then the first program may be scheduled forrecording.

Alternatively, if the overlap time is less than 10 minutes, then thecontrol circuitry 304 (FIG. 3) determines the recording priority foreach of the three programs. In certain embodiments, the first program,is deemed to have the lowest recording priority (step 1908), then theoverlapping portion of the first may be cropped to allow for the secondand third program to record (step 1910). However, the first program maybe recorded at a later time when at least one of the second and thirdprogram has ended.

Instead, if the second program is determined by the control circuitry304 (FIG. 3) to have the lowest priority (step 1912), then it may becropped during the overlapping portion (step 1914) to allow for thefirst and third program to record in full. If the third program has thelowest, priority, then it may be cropped to allow the first and secondprograms to record in full (step 1916).

As noted above, the order in which the steps of the present method areperformed is purely illustrative in nature. In fact, the steps can beperformed in any order or in parallel, unless otherwise indicated by thepresent disclosure. The invention may be embodied in other specificforms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristicsthereof. The forgoing embodiments are each therefore to be considered inall respects illustrative, rather than limiting of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of managing program recording schedules,comprising: retrieving from memory a schedule of recordings for aplurality of programs during a first time interval; determining whethera number of programs in the plurality of programs exceeds apredetermined number during the first time interval; and in response todetermining that the number of programs exceeds the predeterminednumber: determining a recording priority of the plurality programs;retrieving a user-specified cropping threshold, wherein the userspecified cropping threshold identifies a maximum amount permissible tocrop from a program; and recording the plurality of programs whilecropping a portion of at least one of the plurality of programs based onthe recording priority such that a number of programs scheduled to berecorded during the first time interval is equal to or less than thepredetermined number in response to determining that a size of theportion of the at least one of the plurality of programs that is croppedis less than the user-specified cropping threshold.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising receiving a request for recording a programthat at least partially overlaps, during a first time interval, with theplurality of programs previously scheduled for recording, wherein theplurality of programs includes the predetermined number of programs thatcan be recorded simultaneously during the time interval.
 3. The methodof claim 2, further comprising: determining a recording priority of theprogram for which the recording is requested in comparison with theplurality of programs; and recording the requested program and theplurality of programs while cropping a portion of at least one of therequested and plurality of programs during the time interval based onthe recording priority of the requested program in response todetermining that a size of the portion of the at least one of therequested and the plurality of programs that is cropped is less than theuser-specified cropping threshold.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein aportion of a start time of a program overlaps with a portion of an endtime of another one of the plurality of programs.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein determining the recording priority includes assigning ahighest priority to the most recent program scheduled for recording inthe schedule of recordings.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein a lowestrecording priority program of the plurality of programs during the firsttime interval is cropped.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the programrecording schedule is managed by an interactive media guidanceapplication.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the recordingpriority of the plurality of programs is based on a recording priorityranking list.
 9. A system for managing program recording schedulescomprising: control circuitry; and a recording device, wherein thecontrol circuitry is configured to: retrieve from memory a schedule ofrecordings for a plurality of programs during a first time interval;determine whether a number of programs in the plurality of programsexceeds a predetermined number during the first time interval; and inresponse to determining that the number of programs exceeds thepredetermined number: determine a recording priority of the pluralityprograms; retrieve a user-specified cropping threshold, wherein the userspecified cropping threshold identifies a maximum amount permissible tocrop from a program; and direct the recording device to record theplurality of programs while cropping a portion of at least one of theplurality of programs based on the recording priority such that a numberof programs scheduled to be recorded during the first time interval isequal to or less than the predetermined number in response todetermining that a size of the portion of the at least one of theplurality of programs that is cropped is less than the user-specifiedcropping threshold.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the controlcircuitry is further configured to receive a request for recording aprogram that at least partially overlaps, during a first time interval,with the plurality of programs previously scheduled for recording,wherein the plurality of programs includes the predetermined number ofprograms that can be recorded simultaneously during the time interval.11. The system of claim 10, wherein the control circuitry is furtherconfigured to: determine a recording priority of the program for whichthe recording is requested in comparison with the plurality of programs;and direct the recording a device to record the requested program andthe plurality of programs while cropping a portion of at least one ofthe requested and plurality of programs during the time interval basedon the recording priority of the requested program in response todetermining that a size of the portion of the at least one of therequested and the plurality of programs that is cropped is less than theuser-specified cropping threshold.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein aportion of a start time of a program overlaps with a portion of an endtime of another one of the plurality of programs.
 13. The system ofclaim 9, wherein the control circuitry is configured to assign a highestpriority to the most recent program scheduled for recording in theschedule of recordings.
 14. The system of claim 9, wherein the controlcircuitry is configured to crop a lowest recording priority program ofthe plurality of programs during the first time interval.
 15. The systemof claim 9, wherein the control circuitry is configured with aninteractive media guidance application for managing the programrecording schedule.
 16. The system of claim 9, wherein the controlcircuitry is configured to determine the recording priority of theplurality of programs based on a recording priority ranking list. 17.The method of claim 1, further comprising: based on the recordingpriority, identifying a first program of the plurality of programs and asecond program of the plurality of programs, wherein the first programhas a first priority that is lower relative to a second priority of asecond program; and recording the plurality of programs while cropping aportion of the first program.
 18. The method of claim 17, furthercomprising: retrieving a user-specified limit associated with the firstprogram, wherein the user specified limit identifies a maximum amountpermissible to crop from the first program; identifying a portion of thefirst program such that cropping the portion of the first program causesreducing the number of programs scheduled to be recorded; determiningwhether a size of the portion of the first program exceeds theuser-specified limit associated with the first program; in response todetermining that the size of the portion of the first program does notexceed the user-specified limit associated with the first program,recording the plurality of programs while cropping the portion of thefirst program; and in response to determining that the size of theportion of the first program exceeds the user-specified limit associatedwith the first program, recording each of the plurality of programsexcluding the first program, wherein each recording is not cropped. 19.The system of claim 9, wherein the control circuitry is furtherconfigured to: based on the recording priority, identify a first programof the plurality of programs and a second program of the plurality ofprograms, wherein the first program has a first priority that is lowerrelative to a second priority of a second program; and record theplurality of programs while cropping a portion of the first program. 20.The system of claim 19, wherein the control circuitry is furtherconfigured to: retrieve a user-specified limit associated with the firstprogram, wherein the user specified limit identifies a maximum amountpermissible to crop from the first program; identifying a portion of thefirst program such that cropping the portion of the first program causesreducing the number of programs scheduled to be recorded; determinewhether a size of the portion of the first program exceeds theuser-specified limit associated with the first program; in response todetermining that the size of the portion of the first program does notexceed the user-specified limit associated with the first program,record the plurality of programs while cropping a portion of the firstprogram; and in response to determining that the size of the portion ofthe first program exceeds the user-specified limit associated with thefirst program, record each of the plurality of programs excluding thefirst program, wherein each recording is not cropped.